Balmacara Bay is a remote wide mouthed embayment on a 193° orientation, located on the north shore of the

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Loch ...

peninsula, on the north coast of sea loch of Loch Alsh and is situated next to the scattered village of Balmacara in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

in the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Settlements

The 2750-hectare crofting estate of Balmacara Estate was bequeathed to the people of Scotland via the

National Trust of Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

. The estate was bequeathed in 1946 by Lady Margaret Hamilton after her death. In 1954, the Lochalsh House was conveyed to the Trust. The A87 road passed Balmacara and the bay, following the northern coast of

. Balmacara Hotel, overlooking the Isle of Skye is located on Balmacara Bay. To the west of the bay is

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is loca ...

and further west, heading north on the peninsula is

Erbusaig Bay Erbusaig Bay is a remote coastal embayment, on a 266° orientation, located on the west coast of the Lochalsh peninsula, in Ross and Cromarty in Scottish Highlands in the west coast of Scotland. At the western side of Erbusaig Bay is the small ...

, to the east is

Nostie Bay Nostie ( gd, Ceann na Mòna) is a small remote hamlet, lying on Nostie Bay, an inlet at the northeastern end of the sea loch, Loch Alsh in the Scottish Highlands and is in the council area of Highland. Nostie lies a short distance from one of Sco ...

Geography

Balmacara Bay is on the north shore of Loch Alsh. To the south of the bay, at about 1 km can be seen the opening of

Kyle Rhea Kyle Rhea is a strait of water in the Highland area of Scotland. It runs from the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the southwest to Loch Alsh in the northeast, separating the Isle of Skye from Inverness-shire on the Scottish mainlan ...

that separates the mainland of Scotland from the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, with Beinn na Caillich at 732metres to the right of the opening. Further to the east of the opening is the small hill of Glas Bheinn at 397metres. Further east again, and clearly visible from the bay, is the village of Ardintoul and Ardintoul Bay and Ardintoul point. Heather, hills, clouds, on the road to Auchtertyre - geograph

Heather, hills, clouds, on the road to Auchtertyre - geograph

Auchtertyre Hill at 452m is the most imposing feature behind the bay. To the west of the bay, is the opening of the sea loch, Kyle Akin, which has a small number of islands, including Eileanan Dubha and Eilean Bàn which the A87 road to

travels over, although not visible from the bay. Slightly south of Kyle of Lochalsh is Kyleakin ( gd, Caol Acain) peninsula and the Rubha Àrd Treisis point, is the opening for the sea loch

Loch na Beiste ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spell ...

, which is visible from the bay. Behind and to the west of the bay, on the Lochalsh peninsula, is mostly flat.

Gallery

The following images, detail the surrounding area, including the village of Balmacara, the bay and those views from the bay. File:Slipway on Kyle Rhea - geograph.org.uk - 920597.jpg, Beinn na Caillich from the slipway at Kyle Rhea File:Balmacara Bay - geograph.org.uk - 393315.jpg, Balmacara Bay. File:Balmacara Bay - geograph.org.uk - 393302.jpg, Balmacara Bay from the sunken garden at the Scottish National Trust property. File:Ard Hill across Balmacara Bay, Loch Alsh, Scotland - geograph.org.uk - 100933.jpg, Ard Hill across Balmacara Bay, Loch Alsh, Scotland. This view along the coast of Loch Alsh was taken from Donald Murchison's Monument. File:Lochalsh House - geograph.org.uk - 170977.jpg, Lochalsh House. In Balmacara Bay. File:Camas nan Gall - geograph.org.uk - 545913.jpg, Camas nan Gall Looking east towards Ardintoul Point. File:Camas na Gall - geograph.org.uk - 546002.jpg, Camas na Gall Looking west towards Skye. File:Balmacara Square - geograph.org.uk - 8328.jpg, Balmacara Square File:Balmacara Square - geograph.org.uk - 1590894.jpg, Balmacara Square These buildings face south west across the restored millpond in the centre of The Square.

References

External links

Oblique aerial view of the bay at Balmacara and the fish trap, taken from the SSW
{{Authority control Bays of Ross and Cromarty

Settlements

Geography

Gallery

See also

References

External links